He's always watching: Apple CEO Steve Jobs has implemented a plan that would allow his company to track users and target ads at their mobile devices. Germany isn't happy with that plan or Apple's lack of transparency. (Source: MHP Books)

Nation demands answers as to what data Apple is collecting

Germany's
Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger in an
interview [Google translation] with Der
Spiegel said
that American electronics maker Apple needs to immediately adopt
more transparency . She stated, "Users of iPhones
and other GPS devices must be aware of what kind of information about
them is being collected."

She said that Apple must
"immediately make clear" what information it plans to
collect. She says that Apple must "open its databases to
German data protection authorities" and make it clear how long
it intends to keep user data.

The announcement comes in the
wake of changes to Apple's privacy policy, which indicate that Apple
may be tracking
and storing users' locations via GPS. That could allow the
company to better target its ads, leading to more lucrative revenue
and new opportunities, but it would also create privacy
concerns.

While it's clear that you can opt out of
allowing third-party
(non-Apple) apps to collect location data, it's unclear if
you can completely opt out of Apple's mobile device tracking plan or
exactly what that plan is (the legal language merely suggests that
Apple has the opportunity to make use of
tracking).

Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger says it would be
"unthinkable" for Apple to track users' locations or
collect info to try to detect their personalities. She states,
"Apple has the obligation to properly implement the transparency
so often promised by (CEO) Steve Jobs."

Meanwhile, other companies are struggling with
Germany's progressive stance on
privacy. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has directed recent
criticism against the world's largest social network, Facebook.
She firmly disagrees with the site's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, in his
belief that users no
longer care about privacy. She recently quit the site
over privacy
concerns.

I can attest to that!! I have a co-worker who was born and raised in Germany, but has been living in the U.S. for 15 years. He doesn't have a wireless router at his house, as he's paranoid about security. His brother still lives in Germany and is even more paranoid.

"Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be." -- Steve Ballmer